On Monday, Paramount CEO David Ellison announced that the company has filed a lawsuit against Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) in Delaware, demanding greater financial disclosure regarding Netflix’s $82.7 billion acquisition.
Ellison wrote, “WBD has provided increasingly novel reasons for avoiding a transaction with Paramount, but what it has never said, because it cannot, is that the Netflix transaction is financially superior to our actual offer.”
“Along with the WBD shareholders, we have asked for the customary financial disclosure a board is supposed to provide shareholders when making an investment recommendation … WBD has failed to include any disclosure about how it valued the overall Netflix transaction, how the purchase price reduction for debt works in the Netflix transaction, or even what the basis is for its ‘risk adjustment’ of our $30 per share all-cash offer. WBD shareholders need this information to make an informed investment decision on our offer,” Ellison added.
The industry has also generally reacted negatively to the acquisition, raising concerns about job implications, the future of theatrical releases, and the representation of diverse voices in film and TV.
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